Display package carrier for dispensers



J. MCKOOL I DISPLAY PACKAGE CARRIER FOR DISPENSERS March 21, 1939.

Filed Aug. 25, 1938 Jwucnfor 70/272 [Ma/T002 11m; no

. 45 reir, moves in a direction away from the display suflicient to extend across the top of a package of 45 Patented Mar. 21, 1 939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPLAY PACKAGE CARRIER FOR DISPENSERS John McKool, Windber, Pa.

Application August 25, 1938, Serial No. 226,800

3 Claims. (01.116-114) This invention relates to improvements in or modified so long as such changes or modificapackage dispensing apparatus and pertains partions mark no material departure from the ticularly to a novel and improved means for insalient features of the invention as expressed in dicating when the contents of the dispenser are the appended claims.

. exhausted. I In the drawing: 5

The present invention is--direc'tedparticularly Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a pair to dispensers of packaged articles such, for "exof article carriers showing the present invention ample, as cigarettes and it has for its principal in association therewith. object to provide a novel means for supporting Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2--2 of l-D a package of the articles in the dispenser in such Fig. 1. a position that it will be on display so long as the Fig. -3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2, dispenser contains articles to be discharged and but showing the carrier empty and the display will be automatically dropped from view as soon package holder in released position. as the last article has been removed from "the Fig. '4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of 1 5 dispenser, thus indicating that the dispenser or Fig. 1. l5

theparticular column of a number of article con- Referring now more particularly to the draw- ,taining columns, is empty. ing, the numeral I generally designates a carrier Another object of the invention is to provide of the type commonly employed in dispensing in a mechanism of the above described character, machines for maintaining a stack of articles or a novel means for supporting the display package packages of articles in position to be discharged 20 in position for indicating that the contents of the one at a timefrom the lower end of the carrier. dispenser arenot exhausted, which is regulated by Since the carrier and the means for supporting the presence of apackage in the dispenser-so that the display article thereon and for releasing it when the last package of the dispenser-has-been when the carrier is empty, are the only parts of 5 removed, the display article holding meanswill the dispensing machine which relate to the pres- 5 be releasedto move to a position where it will in out invention, no parts of a dispensing machine turn release the display article or package and to have been shown, it being well understood by allow it to be dropped into a position where it those familiar with the art, how these carriers cannot be seen by prospective customers of the are maintained in such a machine and how the dispenser, so that the customer will be aware of articles or packages of articles are dispensed 3 the fact thatthe dispenser is empty. therefrom.

The invention more specifically comprises, in The carrier illustrated has a back wall 2, side association with asupporting means'for a numwalls 3 and the inwardly turned front wall flanges ber of stacked packages, a fixed holding arm car- 4 which have their inner edges in spaced relation '35 ried by the supporting means for engagement leaving the usual open area 5 which facilitates the 5 over one side of a display package, and a shiftintroduction of articles into the carrier or their able or sliding'supporting means which is adaptremoval therefr m by hand hro h the pper ed to be moved to a position where it will enpart thereof when necessary. In carrying out the age across the opposite side of the display present invention, the front wall flanges of the 10 package from the fixed means, in which position carrier are each provided with a forwardly ex- 40 it is held by packages in the carrier engaging tending stationary arm 5 having at its outer end against a resilient arm which carries the shiftthe downturned finger l- The present invention able supporting means and which, when released is directed primarily to dispensers for cigarettes by the removal of the last package from the carand, therefore, the length of each arm 6 will be package so as to retract the shiftable support cigarettes when such package is placed in upright therefor and allow the display package to be position against the faces of the flanges 4 as illusdropped. trated, the package being designated by the char- The invention will be best understood from a acter P, so that the finger l of each arm will consideration of the following detailed descripextend down across the face of the package in the 50 tion taken in connection with the accompanying manner shown. While the present device has drawing forming part of this specification, with been designed for the specific use stated, it is to be the understanding, however, that the invention understood that it is not to be limited to such use is not to be confined to any strict conformity with for it will be readily obvious that the invention the showing of the drawing but may be changed may be employed in any dispensing machine 65 where the articles dispensed or the packages of the articles are of a nature to be handled in the same manner as cigarette packages.

Adjacent the lower end of each front wall flange 4, a slot 8 is formed which is directly below an arm 6 and secured to the inner side of each flange 4 at a substantial distance above the slot is a flat resilient spring arm 9 which extends downwardly to a point substantially in the same horizontal plane as the slot 8 of the adjacent flange and has rigidly secured to its lower end the shiftable package supporting bar l0 which is designed for reciprocatory movement through the adjacent slot 8. The spring arm 9 is so constructed that it will normally tend to oscillate away from the adjacent flange so that the lower end thereof will constantly tend to move toward the back of the carrier so as to retract the shiftable support I0 from the front of the carrier. As will be understood, there are two of these fiat resilient arms 9 and two supports l0 and when the carrier is filled with the packages of cigarettes, these arms will be forced forwardly against the inner sides of the adjacent flanges 4 so that the supports ID will be projected outwardly through the slots 8. Since the vertical distance. between the shiftable supports I0 and the stationary arms 6 is equal to the height of a package of the commodity in the carrier, it will be readily seen that such a package may be retained in position by the supports l0 and the fingers 1 of the overlying arms so long as the resilient arms 9 are maintained in their parallel relation with the inner sides of the supporting flanges 4. This position of the resilient arms is assured by the presence of a package in the carrier.

It will be understood that when the carrier or a number of such carriers is in position in a dispensing machine, the lower part thereof where the display'package is supported may be positioned behind a covered window so that only this lower part of the carrier will be seen by the public. As the packages are removed from the carrier, the next one to be taken out moves into the position occupied by the previous package and continues to maintain the resilient arms in their forwardly sprung position but as soon as the last package is removed from the carrier, the spring arms 9 will be released and due to their inherent flexibility will spring back at their lower ends and retract the supportslO, thus allowing the display package to drop from position. A prospective customer looking into the machine through the Window adjacent the display package will then see that the display package is missing and will know from this that the carrier is empty.

As previously explained, the package carrier itself and the manner in which the packages are removed therefrom, forms no part of the present invention. For this reason, no means has been shown associated with the carrier by which the packages are removed therefrom, it being understood that the packages may be removed from the bottom of the carrier or from the back thereof adjacent the bottom by any of the well known commonly employed means associated with dispensing machines for packages of cigarettes or other similar packaged material.

What is claimed is:

1. In a carrier for dispensing vertically stacked articles, means for supporting a display article upon the face of the carrier, comprising a stationary arm secured to and projecting from the face of the carrier and engageable with the article, a shiftable support below the arm upon which the article is carried outside the carrier, and means in the carrier connected with said shiftable support and normally tending to retract the latter into the carrier from beneath the supported article, said last means being maintained against movement to retract the support by an article removably held in the carrier.

2. Adispensing carrier for a plurality of stacked articles, comprising a vertical carrier unit in V which the articles are supported one above the other, said unit having a front wall, an arm fixed to said front wall and extending forwardly therefrom for engagement over the top of a display article, a resilient arm secured at one end above the lower end of and within the unit and having itsother end disposed in and adjacent the lower part of the unit and free to move therein relative to said front Wall, and a supporting-member for porting member from'beneath the display article when the article in the unit is removed.

3. In a dispenser carrier of the character described, comprising anelongated structure designed tosupport a plurality of articles in vertically stacked relation and having a front wall, an arm secured to and extending forwardly from said front wall at a point above the lower endof the carrier, said arm terminating in a downturned finger, a spring arm within the carrier secured at one end to the inner side of said front wall and extending downwardly to a point adjacent the lower end of the carrier, said wall adjacent the lower end of the carrier having a slot therethrough, an article supporting member secured to the lower end of said spring arm and extensible coacting with the first arm to support a display article, and said spring arm having an inherent resiliency normally tending to move its lower end away from said front wall to retract'the article supporting member through the slot and'into the 

